The Story of the Silver Jack

Following the purchase of the bowling green in 2007 after almost 96 years of leasing, the previous owner and the annual recipient of the "peppercorn" rent, Mr Nicholas JS Walker informed the club that he would be visiting Lindley at some stage and had a presentation to make to the Club. No one associated with the Club had any idea what this curious presentation would be.

In 1912 Mr Walker's great grandfather, Frederick William Sykes, had laid the bowling green behind the Club and leased it back to the club for a peppercorn rent (literally 1 peppercorn to be paid every Christmas). As a show of gratitude the Club commissioned a Silver Jack (actual jack size) and presented it to Mr Sykes on 11 May 1912. The knowledge of the existence of the Silver Jack had been lost with the passing of time but unbeknown to the Club the artefact had been handed down through the years and was in the possession of Mr Walker. On 8 February 2008 Nicholas Walker visited Lindley Liberal Club with the Silver Jack and presented it back to the Club. The inscription on the Silver Jack reads:

Presented to
F W Sykes Esq JP
of Green Lea
on the occasion of opening
the new Bowling Green
of the Lindley Liberal Club
May 11^th 1912

In return the Club offered Mr Walker the original peppercorn tin, retained by the Club since 1912. The offer was graciously declined by FW Sykes' great grandson who commented that the tin was part of the Club's history and should remain at the Club. Nicholas Walker penned his own inscription to correspond with the one engraved on the Silver Jack almost 96 years before, it reads:

Presented to the
Lindley Liberal Club
by Nicholas Joseph Sykes Walker
great grandson of F. W. Sykes Esq. JP
on the occasion of their acquisition
of the Bowling Green
5th April 2007

The date on the Silver Jack is both curious and important as it connects Lindley Liberal Club with the small port of Wivenhoe, near Colchester, more than 210 miles away. It also connects the Club with the most famous shipping disaster in history which occurred only 26 days before the Silver Jack was presented to Mr Sykes.

It is known that FW Sykes spent time in Wivenhoe on his yacht the SY Venetia crewed by approximately 30 seamen. Some time after the 15 April 1912 the ship's company appeared in 2 articles in a local newspaper collecting for the widows and orphans of their comrades who perished onboard the RMS Titanic. No doubt a similar charitable collection was going on at Lindley Liberal Club at about the same time. Click on the images below for more.